Spring Community Meeting

SBNA SPRING APRIL 8, 2026 NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
The Annual Community Meeting was held at Union Church, 485 Columbus Avenue, and convened at 6:30 PM. Approximately 60 neighbors attended.
Welcome and Introduction of the Board: SBNA President Joan Carragher welcomed everyone to the meeting, and thanked members for participating in the biennial election of the board. Joan welcomed the new SBNA Board of Directors for 2026-2028:  Joan Carragher, President; Janie Wallace, Vice President; Betsy Homa, Treasurer; Lee Steele, Clerk; Claire Dargan, Director and Communications Lead; Adel Labib, Director; Shruti Manglik, Director; and acknowledged outgoing board members Arber Skendaj, Jo-Ann Suna, and Kathie Enright.  The Board will serve a term of two years.
Neighborhood Updates
Blank Street Coffee: Blank Street Coffee plans to open early summer, and expects to promote the feel of a local neighborhood shop. Joan reminded neighbors to check eblasts and Neighborhood Matters for location of the First Tuesday casual meetups, which take place in the morning (for early birds), and evening (for night owls) every first Tuesday of the month.
Boston Strong Daffodils: Look for daffodils to brighten the neighborhood Marathon Weekend.  The SBNA supports the Boston Strong 2013 Memorial Fund by providing the daffodils. Joan asked that neighbors wait until after the race on Monday afternoon before collecting a pot of daffodils to plant in your yard.
Love Your Block: The neighborhood cleanup is scheduled for April 25, 2026. Joan asked volunteers to gather on the corner of St. Botolph Street and West Newton Street in front of Blank Street storefront for tools, instructions and comradery.  Light breakfast snacks and coffee will be provided, complements of the Colonnade Hotel.  Pizza will be served after the cleanup.
Boston Landmarks Commission: Lee Steele, incoming SBNA Board Clerk, and St. Botolph resident for nearly fifty years, gave an overview of the Boston Landmarks Commission.  He explained that the St. Botolph neighborhood is one of ten historic districts in the city, and that permission is required for any construction on the exterior of buildings, such as windows, masonry, decks, etc.  St. Botolph is represented by four commissioners, who are nominated by the SBNA.  Doug Miller, Nancy Russell, and Jim Kutchin serve as our commissioners. There is one vacancy. Randi Lathrop and Irwin Levy have been nominated by the neighborhood to fill this vacancy, pending city approval.  Lee acknowledged the many years of service of outgoing commission chair, Susan Trowbridge.  Susan served since 2013, and as chair since 2017, and brought her training in architectural design and career in education and publishing to the commission.  Lee commented that in all those years, Susan never missed a meeting, and he thanked her for her commitment to faithfully preserving the historical character of our neighborhood.
Titus Sparrow Park: Joan announced that SBNA is a proud sponsor of the Titus Sparrow Park Concerts.  Titus Sparrow Park will be starting a garden club, with opportunities for neighbors to volunteer to beautify and maintain the park and get your hands dirty.  Follow the park on Instagram to donate, and for updates on activities such as Irwin Levy’s walking tours.: titussparrowpark.org
70 St. Botolph: Joan reported that the renovations at 70 St. Botolph continue, and Phase One is on track to finish by late summer.  Scaffolding is scheduled for removal in the summer of 2027. Joan remarked on the active relationship that the SBNA has with our neighbors at 70 St. Botolph and anticipates volunteer opportunities to help spruce up the outdoor spaces after the renovations are complete.
History of St. Botolph: Our first speaker was Dan d'Heilly, Blackwood Street resident.  Dan ran our highly successful walking tour along the fabled Stain Glass Row. Dan will be reprising his interesting talks about our historical roots on May 18, 2026, as he takes us through our “prehistoric” era from 680 to 1881.  He’ll answer such burning questions as: is St. Botolph South End or Back Bay? How did St. Botolph become a thriving artist colony? Why was there a concentration of crafts such as Harcourt Bindery, George Vesper Art Studio, and the Connick and O’Duggan stained glass studios.
Boston Water and Sewer Commission: Joan introduced Jeremiah White, BWSC Director of Construction, and Ryan Shea, BWSC Project Engineer (for St. Botoph project).  Jeremiah explained that the BWSC will be installing a 42 inch diameter water main and valves the length of St. Botolph Street from Gainsborough St. to Harcourt Street. The good news is that the construction will not impact water to individual buildings.  The bad news is that there will be some traffic disruption.  
Jeremiah explained that the preliminary plan is to begin at Gainsborough Street, and progress down St. Botolph Street.  The construction will involve 200 feet at a time, will require loss of parking spaces and traffic diversion for safety reasons.  At the end of each work day, a heavy metal plate will be installed, and night time parking will be restored. Randi Lathrop, long time South End/Back Bay resident, asked if there would be dust mitigation, and Ryan responded that dust control measures will be used.  Each section is expected to take three to four weeks.  The work is permitted from 7AM to 4PM and is planned to commence in late May/early June.  It was stressed that these plans are preliminary and that residents should check both the BWSC project website and SBNA’s website for updates and a link to the BWSC’s Project Page. 
Update - since the meeting the plan has changed and now is scheduled for April and begins from the Harcourt Street end of St Botolph Street - details here
 Albemarle resident Sarah Zettek asked for confirmation that deliveries would be able to get through, and Ryan confirmed that the traffic diversion would allow for deliveries.  He added that contractors can install plates if needed for emergencies.  Randi inquired about the communication plan, and recommended preconstruction notification by flyering to residents before construction begins. Joan asked for concerns to be addressed through stbololph.org 
Speakers: Joan introduced state and city officials.  The first speaker was Sgt. Joe Narduzza who reported that serious crimes were down in the D-4 area
Sgt Narduzza talked about NEST– an outreach program to address substance abuse staffed by specially trained team that can get patients into treatment (and avoid arrest).  Joan encouraged everyone to call 911 to help get neighbors or pedestrians needing treatment through government initiatives. 
A representative from the Massachusetts State Police announced stepped up patrols on the Corridor (jurisdiction of DCR/MSP). A neighbor asked who should be called with concerns on the Corridor, and Sgt Narduzza explained that residents should call 911 if it is an emergency dealing with people, and 311 for concerns about objects or the environment.
Sgt. Narduzza recognized the uptick in package theft and suggested reducing crimes of opportunity.  BPD brought brochures concerning steps to reduce package theft and left them at the meeting.
Ron Smith, longtime Cumberland Street resident, gave a shout out for BPD alerts, and urged residents to sign up.  He also commended the responsiveness of BPD. He noted the prevalence of car windows that were smashed and reminded neighbors not to store anything in their cars.
Next, Joan introduced elected officials: Nick Collins, State Senator, John Moran, State Representative, Ray Flynn, City Councilor, Brianna Mollor, Chief of the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS), and our new ONS representative, Sam Courage.
Ray Flynn spoke first and emphasized his twin priorities of public safety and pest control.
Nick Collins reiterated legislative achievements in the Senate of bills passed to make K-12 schools cell phone free, protect data privacy, and commitment to reproductive freedom and protection of librarians and educators.  He stopped short of offering any new solutions to high city taxes when questioned by a resident.  Ray Flynn responded to that question by offering that cost control measures were needed to reduce taxes and pointed to an eight percent spending increase last year as “unsustainable.”  Brianna Mollor of ONS noted that residents can apply for an assessment appeal.
John Moran emphasized his efforts in the House to protect freedom of expression for librarians from book bans, and to protect LBGTQ+ children from harassment. He mentioned affordable housing initiatives, and conversion of the Alexandria Hotel restoration. 
Rep. Moran mentioned that a press conference about new initiatives at Mass/Cass will take place on April 9th. The link to that announcement follows: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2026/04/09/state-commits-4m-to-address-substance-use-crisis-at-mass-and-cass/
Ray Flynn fielded a question on speed bumps and stated that the program was on pause.  Brianna Mollor of ONS stated that Mayor Wu understood that street safety was a priority for the neighborhood and mentioned her St. Botolph walkabout with the chief of streets.
Lifelong Durham Street resident Irene Small requested a crosswalk at the end of Durham Street and commented on lost revenue from tax exempt entities such as hospitals and universities. Ray Flynn promised to follow up on the Durham Street crosswalk. He also mentioned that the council was trying to regulate third parties such as Door Dash because the moped drivers ignored the rules of the road, creating safety hazards.
Joan thanked everyone for participating and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm